Tag: announcement

During a panel at Power Morphicon today, the world was finally given a sneak peek at what Hasbro intends to do with the Power Rangers brand. This news brought hope to a great many fans, myself included, in the form of the Lightning Collection, a new anthology series of figures set to drop its first wave in spring 2019. Hasbro was very open with information about these new figures, and in a preview video, showed the production of a prototype Mighty Morphin’ White ranger figure. The features are as follows:

The figures were confirmed to retail for a price point of $19.99 in the US and will be released as an Anthology series, rather than dividing sets by individual team. Hasbro representatives were adamant that all eras of Rangers will be included, rolled out over time similar to the Marvel Legendary Collection series, also made by Hasbro. In addition, during a Q&A at the end of the panel, the question of Monster figures in this series was brought up, and an implicit yes was given but nothing has been confirmed there just yet.

Stay tuned for more details as they become available, including pre-order information.

Are you excited to see the Lightning Collection in person? Which ranger are you most looking forward to seeing realised this way? Leave a comment and let’s discuss!

Personal note: Huge thanks and kudos to @TokuChris for streaming the panel. We love you!

Can you believe it’s been 25 years since the premiere of the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers? A quarter century on, the series is still going strong, especially now that we are getting a glimpse at the franchise’s anniversary plans. Revealed first by IGN, including the picture seen below, the announcement was recently made that the second episode of Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel’s second half will be a 25th anniversary tribute, featuring the return of at least three former rangers. In the picture, we see Catherine Sutherland, Jason Faunt, and the legendary Jason David Frank, all morphing in a team pose.

This means the characters of Katherine Hillard (here shown as Turbo Pink), Wes Collins (Time Force Red), and Tommy Oliver (in classic Mighty Morphin’ Green) are returning to the franchise for, at least, this one episode. Breaking from the series’ normal airing schedule of Saturday mornings, the 2th anniversary special episode of Super Ninja Steel is set to air in prime time, at 8:00PM US Eastern Time on 28th August, the original air date of the premiere back in 1993. IGN’s original article does also seem to imply that more Rangers will be returning, though they have yet to be shown.

Crossovers in this franchise have a bit of a storied history, with highs such as the comics story arc Shattered Grid and the TV specials Forever Red and Thunder Storm coming in as highlights, standing in stark contrast to the Legendary Battle special seen in Super Megaforce. If you want to see more of these crossovers, each season of Power Rangers up to Ninja Steel can currently be found on Netflix in the US and UK, and Shattered Grid is available through most comics retailers and Boom! Studios online.

Are you excited for this development? Leave a comment below and let’s discuss!

The Game Master returns! Bandai has recently announced that kami-sama himself, Shin Dan Kuroto, will be getting the S.H. Figuarts treatment in the form of not one, but two S.H. Figuarts! Dan Kuroto will and Shin Dan Kuroto have both been announced for release. Dan Kuroto is highly detailed, featuring a facial scan of actor Tatsuya Iwanagi, and Shin Dan Kuroto is decidedly more like something out of anime or a western cartoon. It’s silly, it’s over the top, and it couldn’t be more perfect. The press release photos show the figure in various poses, each channeling the Game Master flawlessly, and the face includes an almost unsettling amount of similarity in expression to the actor himself. The production model is sure to lose some of that quality, as all human-faced figures do, but it is still quite a sight to behold. See images below.

Dan Kuroto:

Shin Dan Kuroto:

S.H. Figuarts Shin Dan Kuroto so far does not have a price, and pricing will be announced in the near future. Per the pictures, the figure will include the Continue pipe as well as a miniature version of the Dangerous Zombie Gashat. Toku Toy Store will be accepting preorders for this item once pricing is released. This article will be updated once pricing is released.What other Kamen Rider characters would you like to see with the actors likeness? Let us know!

After a long and drawn out legal process, Tsubaraya Productions claim the worldwide rights to their early Ultraman series

Following a weekend marathon of Ultraman Leo done by Shout! Factory and Twitch in association with with Tsubaraya Productions, Takahashi Ryota, Tsubaraya’s business manager, staged a press conference on the 24th April where he announced the long-awaited final verdict on in regards to the legal showdown between Tsubaraya and Thai-based company Chaiyo! in regards to the licensing dispute over the on-going Ultraman franchise. It was settled at a California Federal Court where it was declared that an alleged contract held by the Thai-based company is null and void. Tsubaraya Productions also summarily published an English press release on their own website at 10pm PDT.

NOTICE OF WINNING JUDGEMENT IN U.S. LAWSUIT REGARDING “ULTRAMAN” RIGHTS

In the copyright-related lawsuit that took place in the United States between Tsuburaya Productions Co., Ltd. (“TPC”) and UM Corporation (“UMC”), the United States District Court, Central District of California, entered a final judgment on April 18, 2018 affirming the entire claim of TPC, including that the supposed agreement dated March 4, 1976, claimed by UMC as the basis for its alleged rights in “Ultraman,” was not an authentic contract.

In addition to confirming that TPC possesses all the rights to develop and expand any audio-visual or other creative works or products based on “Ultraman” characters or stories, the judgment required UMC to pay damages for its infringement of TPC’s rights.

2. Developments Thus FarOn May 18, 2015, UMC filed a lawsuit against TPC in the above court, seeking confirmation of its alleged rights to use the “Ultraman” series and characters created by TPC. On September 11, 2015, TPC filed a countersuit against UMC and its licensees to confirm TPC’s exclusive worldwide rights in “Ultraman” and to recover damages from UMC and its licensees for their infringements.

In support of its assertion of rights, UMC claimed that there was an agreement signed in 1976 (the “Document”) by Noboru Tsuburaya, who was the representative of TPC, which gave Mr. Sompote Saengduenchai, a Thai businessman, rights to use and exploit “Ultraman” worldwide, excluding Japan, and that UMC had succeeded to Mr. Sompote’s alleged rights.

TPC asserted that the Document was a forgery, such that UMC had no rights to use “Ultraman,” and that UMC infringed TPC’s copyrights by doing so. Therefore, the principal point of dispute in this lawsuit was whether the Document was an authentic contract signed and sealed by Noboru Tsuburaya, or whether it was forged.

The dispute between TPC, UMC and Mr. Sompote has continued for more than 20 years. The background of the dispute is as follows.

In 1996, the year after Noboru Tsuburaya passed away, Mr. Sompote suddenly presented to TPC a copy of the Document that was supposedly signed by Noboru Tsuburaya in 1976, and claimed that he possessed in perpetuity the right to use the “Ultraman” series worldwide excluding Japan. The Document presented by Mr. Sompote was a mere one-page document, and the original was not disclosed.

There were many misstatements in the Document regarding basic matters that would never have been made, had Noboru Tsuburaya actually prepared the Document, such as errors in TPC’s company name and the names and episode numbers of the works of the “Ultraman” series. In addition, specific licensing fees were not provided, and there were no provisions for matters that would certainly be provided in genuine licensing agreements.

Additionally, during the 20-year period between 1976, when the Document was supposedly prepared, and 1996, the year after Noboru Tsuburaya died when it was first presented to TPC, Mr. Sompote had not exercised his alleged rights based on the Document, nor referenced the existence of the Document even once.

During this 20-year period, Mr. Sompote never developed a global business for the “Ultraman” series, as he later asserted he was entitled to do.

On the other hand, even after 1976, including while Noboru Tsuburaya was the representative of TPC, TPC made considerable investments to produce and globally distribute the “Ultraman” series and build an international brand. In response to those activities, neither Mr. Sompote nor anyone affiliated with him ever claimed the existence of the Document or Mr. Sompote’s alleged rights.

Based on such facts and others, TPC firmly believed that the Document was a forgery, and it has therefore been in dispute with Mr. Sompote and UMC. Whether or not the Document was forged has been disputed in the courts of Japan, Thailand and China in the past.

In Japan, TPC requested a handwriting analysis by the court regarding the Document, but an analysis was not conducted, and a decision that the Document was an authentic document was therefore rendered without a confirmation of the original Document being made.

In Thailand, handwriting analysis procedures were conducted, and, as a result thereof, the TPC’s claim of forgery was recognized and TPC won the lawsuit. In Thailand, the forgery of the Document was not only decided in a civil case, but also became a criminal case, and Mr. Sompote was convicted of forgery.

In China, while TPC won the lawsuit in the first instance, the judgment was reversed at the higher court so it would be consistent with the judgment from Japan.

In the Chinese and Japanese judgments, it was recognized that the Document, even if not a forgery, granted only limited rights to use “Ultraman” works from the early-Showa era series (mid 1960s to mid 1970s). In the judgments of all of the countries, it has been recognized that, regardless of the outcome of the lawsuits, the copyrights in “Ultraman” belong to TPC.

3. U.S. JudgmentIn the lawsuit in the U.S., enormous amounts of documents, materials and communications that both parties had in their possession were disclosed and analyzed over a long period of time through a procedure called “discovery,” which was not available to the parties in any of the other lawsuits.

As a result thereof, new facts and evidence, which had not become apparent in the lawsuits in each of the other countries, were revealed.In addition, depositions (testimonies conducted under oath before trial) and witness examinations of numerous witnesses from both parties and of handwriting analysis expert witnesses were conducted.

Furthermore, Mr. Sompote, who is the alleged recipient of, and the only living alleged witness to the creation of, the Document, refused to accept service of the complaint for the U.S. lawsuit without reason, and refused to appear in court as a witness.

In November 2017, a trial was held before a jury of 8 members of the community. On November 20, 2017, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of TPC on its claim that the Document was not an authentic or valid contract that had been signed and sealed by Noboru Tsuburaya.

After the jury reached its verdict, UMC filed motions to try to overturn the verdict on the grounds that it had been reached through error and was not supported by evidence. On March 28, 2018, the district court denied UMC’s motions and maintained the jury’s verdict.

On April 18, 2018, the district court entered a Final Judgment which, consistent with the jury’s verdict, states that the Document is not an authentic agreement that was signed and sealed by Noboru Tsuburaya, and that the Document is invalid, and which prohibits UMC and its licensees from using “Ultraman.”

We believe this victory in the U.S. lawsuit solidifies TPC’s decades-long efforts to fully and finally resolve this dispute and confirm its worldwide rights in “Ultraman.”

This complete winning judgment was rendered after numerous witness testimonies and analytical opinions of handwriting analysis experts, in addition to the detailed evidentiary disclosure proceedings that lasted a long period of time and required enormous efforts. We believe that the credibility of such judgment is extremely strong. Based on this judgment, TPC intends to actively proceed with the further overseas expansion of the “Ultraman” works.

We are grateful for the continuous supports of all our customers, stakeholders, and fans of the “Ultraman” series.

-End Quote-

With that declaration, Tsubaraya Productions are now finally fully free to distribute their first 6 entries to the Ultra Series: Ultraman, Ultra Q, Ultraman Taro, Return of Ultraman, Ultra Seven and Ultraman Ace, in North America and beyond. While this is good news for all the Ultraman fans out there, with any luck the franchise won’t hear from Sampote Saengduenchai, TIGA International or UM Corporation ever again.

Are you excited by the prospect of getting the early Ultraman series on official DVD or via streaming services? Let us know your favourite Ultra in the comment section below!

Fujioka Hiroshi, best known as Hongo Takeshi or Kamen Rider Ichigou, was recently in a minor traffic accident.

One of toku’s favourite sons, Fujioka Hiroshi was in a minor car crash involving himself and a taxi on April 18th, 2018.

The accident happened on a junction with no traffic lights in Tokyo. According to Tokyo Police, the car Hiroshi had been driving had crashed into the taxi. The taxi driver had reported a minor neck injury while Hiroshi said he was unharmed. Thankfully, the taxi had no passengers when the crash happened.

When questioned about what happened by police, Fujioka Hiroshi told them “I paused and proceeded slowly, but we collided.”

After it was revealed that the crash had happened, the news spread quickly and some managed to misinterpret the news, believing that Hiroshi himself had been hit by the taxi. The conjecture led some fans to suggest that being the original Kamen Rider allowed him to walk away unharmed where the taxi and driver where damaged instead. There’s a Chuck Norris style joke in there somewhere.

The accident also reignited the debate about being allowed to drive after a set age. Some argued that despite being a Kamen Rider, Fujioka Hiroshi can’t win the fight against aging and brought up the argument about the elderly returning their driving licenses after a certain age.

Two Power Rangers have been confirmed to potentially appear in the 25th Anniversary episode of Super Ninja Steel.

Thanks to Joe Deckelmeier of the YouTube series, That Hashtag Show, two past Rangers have basically been confirmed as returning in the special anniversary episode. When he attended YesterCon in the USA, at the event’s Power Rangers panel, which had Carla Perez (5th anniversary Rita Repulsa, Mighty Morphin), Tracy Lynn Cruz (Ashley, Turbo & In Space), Christopher Khaymen Lee (Andros, In Space), Ciara Hanna (Gia, Megaforce), Brennan Mejia (Tyler, Dino Charge) and current Pink Ranger Chrysti Ane (Sarah, Ninja Steel), who confirmed Saban had plans for the anniversary, he asked if any of them would be part of the planned 25th anniversary episode. When they answered, everyone had said no except Ciara Hanna who played coy when asked the question.

Ciara Hanna had been one of the Rangers who returned when Saban did the 20th Anniversary of the show as well as appearing in the Legendary Battle, which has very mixed reviews from fans. Ciara’s character, Gia, does seem to be a popular Ranger so it would be good to see her return for the Anniversary episode. Saban is yet to confirm anything officially in regards to the 25th anniversary episode but with any luck, fans will hear something soon.

The other Ranger who is pretty much confirmed to return is Li Ming Hu who played Gemma in RPM. In an interview That Hashtag Show had with co-star Mike Ginn, he wouldn’t say who told him but he has apparently been told by a currently unnamed returning Ranger that Gemma is set to appear in the 25th anniversary episode. That would mean we currently have two Rangers now set to return in Super Ninja Steel, Megaforce Yellow and Gemma the RPM Silver. Tommy Oliver himself, Jason David Frank, is expected to make an appearance, this looking like quite a Legendary team-up.

Who do you guys wanna see appear in the anniversary episode? What do you think will happen to bring these Legend Rangers back to fight Evil once again? Let us know in the comments below!

Here’s a rundown of all the guests attending Super Power Con at the moment!

First up is the man who created Earth’s first team of defenders, Zordon! This multi-dimensional being has been freed from his time warp prison and will be appearing at Super Power Con in November. As well as appearing in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, David J. Fielding is also an accomplished writer and has lent his voice to a number of video games such as Empire Earth and Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna.

Next up is the original leader for the Mighty Morphin team, Jason! As well as being the Mighty Morphin Red Ranger, Austin St. John also appeared in Power Rangers Zeo as the Gold Ranger and then reprised his role as the Mighty Morphin Red Ranger in the 10th anniversary Wild Force Episode “Forever Red”. He is also a board member for the charity Heartland Image Foundation who provide summer activities for children as well as providing food for the homeless.

Up next is the original Mighty Morphin Black Ranger, Zack! Alongside being a Power Ranger, Walter Jones has lent his voice to films like G.I Joe 2 and Death Race 3. He has also appeared in award winning TV shows such as The Shield and CSI. As well as acting, Walter Jones is a talented dancer who has been trained in such dances as the salsa, hip hop, jazz, ballet and tap. He has also worked as a teacher and choreographer as well as being a singer on the Princess Cruise lines.

Just announced on Super Power Con’s official Facebook page, the original Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger from the unaired pilot episode will be attending, the original Trini! Audri Dubois was only Trini for the previously unaired version of the original Mighty Morphin debut episode “Day of the Dumpster” that was later aired in the summer of 1999. Aside from being the original Mighty Morphin Yellow, Audri is also a 5th degree black belt trained by famous martial artist Louis D. Casamassa. Audri is also a stunt double and a stunt choreographer as well as being a member of the Karate Kung Fu Hall of Fame and was also awarded the Female Competitior of the Decade 1980-1990 award. Audri has also trained some of the world’s martial arts world champions. Audri was also the oldest Ranger on set when the pilot was recorded.

Following Zack is the second Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger, Aisha! Karan Ashley has had quite a varied career in the media as an actress, singer, TV host, radio show host, reality star, writer and TV/film producer. After staring in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for over 80 episodes, Karan has had recurring or lead roles in TV shows and films such as Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, One on One, Kenan & Kel and The Encounter. She has also worked with many successful companies like MTV, ABC, BET, Nickelodeon, Disney and 20th Century Fox and made her own production company called Kash Pictures and Entertainment.

No team would be complete without a villain and Super Power Con will be hosting the voice of Rita Repulsa! Barbara Goodson has been the voice of Rita in Mighty Morphin, Zeo and In Space as well as voicing Rita in Power Rangers the movie and Turbo: A Power Rangers movie. As well as lending her voice to Rita Repulsa, Barbara has voiced characters for various well-known anime including One Punch Man, Akira, Naruto Shippuden, DragonBall, Sailor Moon SuperS, Digimon and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. She was awarded a Best Actor Award in 2012 for her work as Mother Talzin in Star Wars: The Clone Wars by Behind the Scenes Actors, as well as recieving an Earphones award for narrating Blair Clemons from the book On A Night Like This.

Following on from the Mighty Morphin team, we have our first guest announcement from Power Rangers Ninja Storm, the Yellow Wind Ranger, Dustin! After appearing in Ninja Storm, Glenn McMillan returned as Dustin in the Power Rangers Dino Thunder crossover episodes. As well as acting, Glenn is a motocross enthusiast just like his character, Dustin. Glenn is also a talented and passionate musician who can play the saxophone and bass.

Continuing with the Ninja Storm team, next up is the Crimson Thunder Ranger, Hunter! Aside from saving the world as a Power Ranger, Adam Tuominen has starred in various Australian TV shows such as Young Lions and Always Greener. Adam is also a recurring stage actor who has been in many award-winning plays like Streetcar Named Desire, Woman in Black and Glass Menagerie to name a couple. Adam also won a Best Male Performance award for his performance in the highly-acclaimed stage play called Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.

Following on from Hunter is none other than his brother, the Navy Thunder Ranger, Blake! Jorgito Vargas Jr, also known as Jorge Vargas, has also been in a number of films and TV shows such as Smallville, Supernatural, Chupacabra vs The Alamo, After Tomorrow and Till Dad Do Us Part. Aside from acting, Jorgito Jr is a trained martial artist and has such hobbies as skateboarding, soccer and skiing.

Continuing from the brothers, Blake and Hunter, we now have a pair of villainous sisters starting with Kapri! Katrina Browne is also famous for roles in films such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Outrageous Fortune and Ozzie. Super Power Con will be Kartina Browne’s only confirmed visit to the UK this year so be sure to visit.

Last but by no means least for the current guest announcements is the second half of the terrible twosome, Marah! As well as appearing as Marah in Ninja Storm, Katrine Devine also starred in Power Rangers Dino Thunder as Cassidy, the school news reporter. Aside from giving the Power Rangers trouble, Katrina has also starred in films and TV shows like Left For Dead, Shortland Street, Snake Road and The Man Who Loved Flowers. Super Power Con will be the first time the two Katrina have reunited since Power Rangers Ninja Storm.

Who do you guys wanna see appear at Super Power Con? Are you excited to see any of the currently announced guests? Let us know in the comments section below!

The Kamen Rider Girls will be performing live in Shinjuku!

Recently announced on the group’s toeihero.net page, the Kamen Rider Girls will be doing a live show for their seven year anniversary, taking place at the Loft in Shinjuku on the 20th of April this year. Ticket prices have been announced at around ¥4,000 – ¥4,500.

The Kamen Rider Girls first came together 7 years go during the Kamen Rider 40th anniversary and were first founded by a production company called Avex Trax. Each of the group’s current members represent a protagonist from one of the many series of Kamen Rider. The group’s premier debut was at an event where members of Project R from the Super Sentai series were also performing. Their debut song was Koi No Rider Kick and their first single on radio was Let’s Go Rider Kick 2011, which is also the theme for the OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let’s Go Kamen Riders movie.

The current members for the group are Sumi Tomomi Jiena who is representing Kamen Rider Gaim, Isaka Hitomi who is representing Kamen Rider OOO, Akita Chisato who is representing Kamen Rider Wizard and Kuroda Ayako who is representing Kamen Rider Ghost.

Good news for Kakuranger fans as new Minipla designs are revealed

Recently, Twitter user Tendou discovered and posted first pics of the new prototype for the Muteki Shogun. This is good news for fans of Super Minipla kits as we now know what’s next in their projects list and a rough idea on how it will look.

We had previously reported about the Kakuranger Minipla when a new Super Minipla Encyclopedia was released showing images of current and upcoming Minipla kits. Among those shown in the book are some preliminary designs for some new projects. While not actually revealed yet, there is a set of three projects from Ninja Sentai Kakuranger.

Following on from the upcoming Liveman sets, it’s nice to see Kakuranger getting some attention. From the encyclopedia, we can see designs for Muteki Shogun, Kakure DaiShogun and Tsubasamaru.

They make quite an interesting combo of mecha to be released if they are the next project to be developed. With Zyuranger finished and Liveman soon to be released, Kakuranger would be a nice addition.

The encyclopedia also references several past Sentai as well as featuring some photos of some vintage candy toy and Gashapon mecha sets from Kousoku Sentai Turboranger, as well as others.

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Which Sentai do you want to see get the Minipla treatment? Are you hoping Kakuranger is the next project? Let us know in the comments below!

Some exciting news for fans of Jason David Frank as he once again returns to Power Rangers as LordDrakkon!

During the ending of this week’s Power Rangers HyperForce, it was revealed that legendary Ranger Jason David Frank is set to return to the series in a different way.

Instead of returning as Tommy Oliver, better known as Mighty Morphin Green/White, Zeo Red, Turbo Red and Dino Thunder Black, Jason David Frank will return as Lord Drakkon, an evil alternate version of Tommy that fans of the Boom Studios comic series for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will recognise.

Jason David Frank’s return to the series as Lord Drakkon is part of the Shattered Grid crossover event that the Hyper Force team are currently taking part in.

The series itself is part of Saban Brand’s 25th anniversary for the Power Rangers franchise. The RPG is set in the year 3016 at Time Force academy. It follows a team of Time Force cadets as they band together and fight an ancient evil trying to destroy the universe. Mentored by Jen Scott, better known as Time Force Pink, and the show’s Game Master, Malika Lim, the newest team of Rangers must cross space and time to complete their mission, meeting familiar faces and eras while on their journey.

Shattered Grid kick-starts in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers issue 25, due to be released on March 25th. Power Rangers Hyper Force is shown live every Tuesday exclusively on Twitch but fans can catch up a week later via the show’s official YouTube channel. The weekly series will have a total of 25 episodes filled with table-top RPG goodness and real-time interaction with fans. Watch the series live on www.twitch.tv/hyperrpg.

Are you excited for Jason David Frank’s return to Power Rangers? Did you expect Lord Drakkon to be personified outside the comics? Let us know in the comments below!